JAPAN 


T S U N E 

A LITTLE  JAPANESE  CHRISTIAN 


“Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and 
forbid  tliem  not:  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of 
(rod.” — M.VliK  X;  1-f. 

“ The  dove  came  in  to  him  in  the  evening;  and, 
lo,  in  her  mouth  was  an  olive  leaf  plucked  off.” — 
Gen.  viii:  11. 

“ Neifher  did  this  man  sin,  nor  his  parents;  but 
that  the  works  of  God  should  be  made  manifest  in 
him.” — JouN  i.x:  3. 


H ^prager 

0 Heavenly  Father,  I give  Thee  back  the 
little  girl  Thoii  gavest  me.  I thank  Thee  for 
the  comfort  of  her  little  span  of  years,  and  for 
what  her  life  and  death  taught  me  of  heav- 
enly things.  And  more  than  all,  I praise  Thee 
for  the  sure  hope  of  meeting  her  again  in  the 
l)ure  joy  of  Thy  presence,  happy  to  all  eternity 
in  Thy  fellowship  and  hers. 

1 offer  Thee  the  five  loaves  and  the  two 
little  fishes — the  sum  of  her  short  life’s  infiu- 
ence.  Deign  to  multiply  the  offering  and  let 
thousands  be  refreshed  thereby.  Amen. 


HATSUNE. 


Her  name  was  Hatsune  Kawai.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  the  Japanese 
pastor  of  the  church  in  the  northern 
capital  of  Formosa.  The  church  peo- 
ple called  her  an  angel,  so  sweet  she 
was.  Tliey  wanted  to  see  how  she  looked 
when  she  cried,  but  they  rarely  had  a chance. 
She  was  only  a Japanese  girl  who  had  been 
baptized  by  the  late  Dr  Geo.  Mackay  of  the 
Canada  Presbyterian  Church  in  Formosa. 
She  was  a little  missionary  from  the  begin- 
ning. Every  week  fine  people  would  invite 
her  t’o  their  homes;  they  knew  the  child  bet- 
ter than  they  knew  her  mother,  and  she 
taught  her  father  more  religion  than  all  his 
professors,  so  he  says.  Here  are  some  glimpses 
of  her  dear  life,  short  in  years  (1898-11)05)  but 
as  long  as  eternity  in  influence. 

Once,  when  she  was  three  years  old,  her 
mother  was  ill.  Her  fatlier  was  going  away 
to  preach.  The  child  begged  to  go.  "You 
may  if  you  will  not  cry  at  night.  ’ She  was 
left  alone  in  the  hotel  while  her  father  was 
out.  When  he  returned  he  found  her  with  her 
hand  on  the  veranda  railing,  looking  wistfully 
at  the  sky.  “ Hatsune,  what  are  those  drops  in 
your  eyes  ? ” “ Oh,  I was  just  I hinking  of  mam- 
ma, and  I’m  afraid  she  is  worrying  about  me.” 

She  used  to  go  once  or  twice  a month  with 
her  father  even  to  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Villages  where  the  savages  live,  proud  to  be 
of  help  in  his  work,  wliich  she  rightly  thought 
the  most  bea'itiful  and  noblest  in  the  world, 
She  wanted  to  be  an  evangelist,  like  her 
father. 

Japanese  girls  in  Formosa  fear  the  Chinese 
very  much,  because  it  is  commonly  said  among 


the  Japanese  that  the  wicked  Chinese  steal 
their  children’s  things  and  even  kidnap 
the  children  themselves.  When  they  see  a 
Chinese  coming  they  wdll  cry.  Hatsune 
feared  them  too,  but  with  those  she  knew  to 
be  Christian  she  would  play  and  go  anywhere 
with  perfect  confidence. 

Once,  when  at  dinner,  Hatsune  got  a bone  m 
her  throat.  She  went  with  her  father  to  the 
hospital,  but  the  doctor  could  not  get  the  bone 
out.  They  went  to  another  hospital,  but  be- 
cause she  feared  the  new  doctor  would  fail, 
too,  she  cried  and  refused  to  open  her 
mouth.  Her  father  said,  “ Hatsune,  if  you  are 
such  a coward  you  can  never  be  an  eva,ngel- 
ist.”  She  stopped  crying,  shut  her  eyes, 
opened  her  mouth,  and  soon  the  bone  was  out. 

There  is  a very  beautiful  place  near  the  sea- 
shore in  southern  Japan  where  muny  rich 
people  and  people  of  rank  from  Tokyo  go 
every  summer  and  winter.  This  place  is 
called  Hayama.  There  is  a summer  school 
there  every  year.  Hatsune  went  there  once 
with  her  mother,  who  was  ill.  Now  the  little 
girl  was  very  fond  of  Sunday-school,  but  there 
was  no  Sunday-school  at  Hayama.  So  Hat 
sune  began  to  pray  morning  and  evening  that 
there  might  be  a good  big  Sunday  school 
there.  Her  father  sent  some  Sunday-scliool 
cards  from  Osaka.  Every  Saturday  she  went 
to  the  houses  where  there  were  children  and 
asked  them  to  come.  Thus  she  gathered  a 
large  number,  and  her  mother  taught  them. 
As  the  school  got  bigger  and  bigger,  two  Bible 
teachers,  Mrs  Osada  and  Miss  Tanaka  came 
down  from  Yokohama  She  felt  that  God  had 
sent  them  to  help  her.  A year  later,  when 
her  father  came  up  from  Formosa,  he  found  a 
Sunday-school  of  from  fifty  to  sixty  boys  and 
girls,  with  the  little  organizer  one  of  its  pupils. 


On  the  way  back  to  Formosa  the  family 
stopped  I o see  the  Osaka  Exposition,  Hatsune’s 
grandmother  being  one  of  i he  party.  The 
grandmother,  71  jears  old,  was  an  earnest 
Buddhist.  Every  morning  before  breakfast 
she  would  read  a portion  of  the  Okyo  (the 
Buddhist  book),  bhe  did  not  understand 
Christianity,  because  she  would  not  listen  to 
her  son’s  explanation,  nor  would  she  go  to 
church.  Hatsune  understood  very  well  her 
parents’  anxiety  that  the  grandmother  might 
be  saved.  At  Osaka  the  little  girl  urged  her 
so  to  go  to  church  that  the  old  lady  had  not 
the  '‘courage  to  refuse,”  and  fora  while  she 
heard  the  gospel  daily.  On  one  occasion  the 
little  evangelist  was  telling  her  the  Bible 
story  when  the  grandmother  exclaimed,  “ You 
are  a wise  little  girl,  Hatsune!”  “ Not  only 
1,  but  all  wno  know  the  Heavenly  Father 
and  Christ  are  wise,”  replied  the  chil  I.  “You 
took  me  to  church  and  there  I heard  the  gos- 
pel. Now  I,  too,  know  the  Heavenly  Father,” 
replied  the  grandmother.  The  little  girl 
opened  her  eyes  wide.  “ If  you  know  Him 
yon  may  be  baptized  by  papa.  I will  go  and 
get  some  water.”  So  real  to  the  child  were 
the  things  of  God. 

When  Hatsune’s  father  left  his  mother  she 
said  to  him:  “1  have  been  surprised  at  the 
faces  of  your  Christian  friends  They  have  a 
certain  light  in  them;  it  comes  not  from  any 
adorning  but  from  within.  I shall  enjoy  at- 
tending church  at  home  now.” 

Last  summer  Hatsune  and  her  father  had 
the  great  joy  of  having  the  grandmother  re 
quest  baptism. 

Last  year,  when  Hatsune  was  visiting  at 
the  house  of  the  Chief  Secretary  of  the  For 
mosan  Railway  Department,  the  wife  of  the 
Chief  Engineer  called.  The  conversation 


tui'iied  on  tobacco  and  drink.  Instantly  an 
expression  of  disgust  came  over  Hatsiine's 
fHce.  ‘‘Don’t  you  approve  of  wine  and  to- 
bacco, Hatsune ‘i  ” “Of  course  not;  no  Ddy 
can  approve  of  such  tilings.”  “ They  are  good 
things,"  said  the  lady,  to  lead  her  on.  “ Why. 
do  you  use  tliem’i”  “ Yes— sometimes.  ’ 
“Tlien  you  are  not  a Christian;  I don't  like 
people  that  are  not  Christian  " Then  the  lady 
asked  Hatsune  to  come  to  see  her,  but  the  girl 
was  unwilling.  The  lady  went  out  and  got 
some  nice  foi’eign  cakes.  “ If  you  will  come 
to  me  you  may  have  these,”  but  the  girl  held 
back.  Once  moi'e  the  lady  tried  to  win  her; 
she  had  the  maid  b ing  in  a beautiful  big  doll 
and  various  things  made  of  gold  and  silver. 
“ Come  to  me  and  you  may  take  your  choice” 
But  Hatsune  was  firm  and  would  not  sacrifice 
her  principle. 

On  her  birthday  her  mother  gave  her  a yen 
(aO  cents)  to  spend  as  slie  wished.  “ How  will 
you  spend  it?  Will  you  buy  something  with 
it  ? " “ No,  mamma;  1 w’ant  to  give  it  to  some 

poor  sick  people.  ’ That  afternoon  her  father 
took  her  |to  some  poor  hospital  and  gave  the 
money  to  ihe  doctor  The  doctor  led  them  to 
two  large  wards,  telling  the  patients  of 
llatsune’s  gift  and  ailding,  “I  will  use  this 
money  to  liuy  for  you  stamps  and  postal  cards, 
with  which  you  can  send  home  your  New 
Year's  greetings  " I'he  patients  were  deeply 
touched  and  bowed  their  thanks 

Such  a one  was  our  little  missionary,  not  a 
very  old  missionary,  but  old  enough  to  know 
God  her  Father  and  His  Son  her  Saviour — 
faithful,  prayerful,  loyal  and  brave  happy 
little  Christian;  but  the  Lord  had  need  of  her. 
She  fell  ill  of  diphtheria  in  Tokyo  about  the 
same  time  her  father  was  suffering  from  the 
same  disease  in  New  York.  The  father  was 


healed,  but  the  little  daughter  was  to  die.  For 
a week  she  lay  there  smiling,  moving  her  head 
now  and  then  towards  her  mother  to  ask  some 
question  about  the  faith,  and  then  she  « ent 
where  questions  become  answers  and  faith 
gives  way  to  vision.  The  little  evangelist 
could  not  preach  here  as  she  had  wished,  but 
she,  being  dead,  yet  speaketh.  Yet  not  dead: 
more  alive  ratiier  than  the  so-called  living. 
She  is  full  of  happiness  and  song,  face  to  face 
with  her  Lord. 


THE  WILLETT  PRESS,  N.  Y. 


